


Little Boy Blue

by MitchTheHystericalQueen



Category: The Walking Dead & Related Fandoms, The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: Dad!Daryl, Eventual Romance, Eventual Smut, F/F, F/M, M/M, Violence, Zombie Apocalypse
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-29
Updated: 2020-12-16
Packaged: 2021-03-04 02:07:10
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 5
Words: 10,070
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24985801
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MitchTheHystericalQueen/pseuds/MitchTheHystericalQueen
Summary: Daryl Dixon’s son is with him and Merle when they first join the group in AtlantaThis is basically a what may have happened if Daryl already had a kid at the start of the apocalypse.Eventual Caryl. Please read the notes in first chapter.
Relationships: Daryl Dixon/Carol Peletier
Comments: 13
Kudos: 47





	1. At The Start

**Author's Note:**

> This is mostly just an idea that I’m experimenting with. It may completely suck. I just had this image of how the show may have played out if Daryl had a kid when it had all started. 
> 
> If I choose to continue this then I can say that the story will mostly follow the story line of the show. Somethings will be changed here and there, I will add things that didn’t happen and remove things that did happen however the story sees fit but ultimately it will be relatively cannon.  
> This will be a Caryl story eventually if it is continued.  
> If it ends up sucking then I’ll probably just delete it XD

A small twig crunched under the foot of the young boy as he watched him step forward. The sound was quiet, not enough to spook the deer that he was stalking, but he flinched as though it had been a gunshot. Daryl continued to watch a few paces behind, noting as the boy fixed his footing and aimed the crossbow. 

The boy took a breath. And another. A third breath. And on the exhale he pulled the trigger. The arrow shot through the air and struck the deer in the stomach causing the animal to startle with a cry and flee off through the bushes. The boy turned back to face Daryl. 

“How was that?” He asked, a wide smile across his face.  
“That was real good,” Daryl replied. “Best keep trackin’ it ‘fore it gets too far,” the boy nodded and set off after the tracks with Daryl falling into step behind him. 

He watched his son as he looked at the tracks the injured deer had created as it ran off and began to follow them. Daryl was sure his boy was probably capable of hunting the fully grown deer on his own, although the 12-year-old would have to do a lot more growing before he’d be able to carry one back by himself. 

They walked in silence as the boy tracked, occasionally wiping the sweat from his forehead and simultaneously spreading dirt across his face and into the front of his light brown hair. Daryl would have laughed but be knew that it would have distracted the boy, instead allowing the amusement to show through his lips as they twitched up into a smile. 

Eventually Daryl could recognise that they were almost back towards the camp and he was thankful that the deer had gone that way as it would be a lot easier to drag it back at such a close range. There was a sudden noise, a short scream followed by some voices and barely a second later Daryl leapt into action.  
“Luke, stay behind me!” He said taking the crossbow from Luke’s hands and breaking into a run. 

The sound of the commotion stopped and a few seconds later Daryl reached the clearing. He stopped as he saw various faces staring back at him and Shane pointing a shotgun at his head. The ex-cop lowered the weapon with a huff when he saw it was Daryl. 

Noting that his dad had stopped Luke stepped around him and slightly into the clearing. He took in all the people stood there and glanced around, his eyes falling to the deer they had been tracking and further to the walker now decapitated next to it.  
“Son of a bitch!” He huffed out, stepping further into the clearing “that’s my deer!” Daryl also stepped around and noted the deer, irritation falling over his features.  
“Aw, look at it all gnawed on by this filthy disease bearing motherless poxy bastard!” The older man spat out. 

Luke watched as his dad kicked the lifeless body of the walker and he leant down to examine the deer.  
“Been trackin’ this deer for miles. Was gonna drag it back to camp,” he huffed out, visibly frustrated. He began pulling out the arrows as Daryl also bent to look at the animal. The skin had turned a dark red, almost black, and was already starting to smell where the walker had chewed on the flesh.  
“What d’ya think, think we can cut around this chewed up part right here?” Daryl asked to the small group in the gathering. Shane looked down at it with a shake of his head.  
“I would not risk that,” 

Luke stood with another huff and began walking back in the direction of the camp. He could here as Daryl and the group was following and Daryl began to call out for Merle. He started heading over to sit by the fire pit when he heard something his dad was saying to one of the men.  
“Rick Grimes? You got somethin’ you wanna tell me?” Luke turned back around and walked a little way over to where the two men were stood. The man he was talking too was new, Luke new that much.  
“Your brother was a danger to us all,” he heard the man start. Curious as to why they were talking about his uncle Merle, he took another step closer. “So I handcuffed him to a roof, hooked him to a piece of metal. He’s still there,” 

The brows on the young boy’s face furrowed as he took in what the man Rick Grimes, had said.  
“Hold on... lemme process this,” his dad started “you sayin’ you handcuffed my brother to a roof, and you left him there!” Rick nodded. Luke felt his body move before his mind had even given it permission to do so. He lunged towards the man at the same time his dad did. 

Just as he was about to throw a punch there was a pair of hands on his shoulders, quickly followed by another pair. At the same time he watched as Shane pushed Daryl and got him into a headlock. The three men were arguing as Luke struggled against the arms holding him. He saw one of the people holding him was Glenn and the other Morales.  
“Get the fuck offa me!” He yelled out “don’t fuckin’ touch me,” He may have only been 12 but the boy had more physical strength than most people his age did and the two men struggled for a moment to keep him under control. After a few more seconds of fighting they managed to fully restrain him and, as he saw Daryl now a little calmer sat on the floor, he began to calm slightly. 

He couldn’t really hear what was being said but he could see the way his dad swiped at his eyes clearly upset. It tugged at him to see his father like that and, as he had calmed enough for the men to loosen their grips, he ducked from under their arms and went to Daryl’s side. He held a hand out for him so he could get up off the floor and, once Daryl was standing he turned to the other man.  
“Just tell me where he is so we can go get ‘im,” he said, feeling his own eyes brim with tears but hurriedly blinking them away. A woman, who he knew to be called Lori, stepped over from the camp.  
“He’ll show you,”  
__ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ 

Daryl looked up as Luke appeared in the entrance to the tent where he was packing a few things into the bag. His hands were still shaking a little and he could feel the anger bubbling inside him but, at the sight of his son, his shoulders relaxed ever so slightly.  
“I wanna come,” the boy said.  
“No,” Daryl replied instantly.  
“Please dad. I gotta help you find uncle Merle. None a these bastards even care!” He said, his own frustration simmering.  
“I already said no. Y’ain’t comin’,” he said more sternly. It hadn’t been a shout, he rarely shouted at his son, but it was the tone of voice that waved no room for arguments. Luke huffed and kicked a stone out of the small entrance way. “I know ya wanna help. I get it. But it’s too dangerous. I gotta worry about findin’ Merle, I ain’t need to worry about if you done got yourself hurt or somethin’ at the same time,” he said in a softer tone. Luke huffed out again but knew it was a lost cause.

Daryl stood to make his way from the tent and stood beside Luke, who was looking at the ground. He could see the tears brimming in his sons eyes. He pulled him over and wrapped his arms around the boy, one hand on the back of his head. “Ya ain’t need to be worried. What does yer uncle Merle always say?”  
“Ain’t nobody can kill Merle but Merle,” Luke replied, wiping the one stray tear that had fallen and looking up at his dad.  
“Exactly,” he replied. He patted his sons back one more time. “Now go on over there, start cuttin’ up them squirrels. Ya stay with the group while I’m gone,” Luke nodded at him and headed off in the direction of the squirrels. 

He was sat on one of the logs beside another boy not much younger than him. The boy was fiddling with a piece of string as Luke sat with the squirrel in one hand and a knife in the other. The engine of the truck roaring to life from behind him caused him to look over and he sent a wave back to his dad as the man climbed into the back of it. He kept watching until the truck was out of sight and then turned back with a small sigh.  
“He’s gonna be ok. My dad too,” the boy beside him, Carl, had said. Luke studied him for a moment. They had spoken a few times since he had been at the camp, along with a blonde girl that was around their age too. He nodded slightly and turned back to his squirrel before replying.  
“I know,”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a short opening there to set the basis for the story. 
> 
> As I said in the beginning notes I’m not sure if this idea will be too popular or if I’m gonna continue it but let me know what you thought. If people like the idea and want me to continue it then I will! 
> 
> Hope you all enjoyed. 
> 
> ~Mitch xoxo


	2. Where To Next

The sound of people milling around, preparing food, sorting equipment and alike, echoed around the camp. Luke kicked a small hole into the dirt with the toe of his shoe as boredom began to seep in. 

It had been almost two hours since Daryl had left along with Glenn, Rick and T-Dog and Luke had run out of things to do. He had skinned and prepared the squirrels for cooking later, he had tidied everything in the tent that he shared with his dad and Merle and he’d even worked up the courage to ask if anyone had a spare toothbrush so he could clean up a little. He didn’t like talking to too many of the people at the camp, especially when he was on his own. He could see the way most of them looked at him and his family, like they were nothing more than loudmouthed rednecks, but there were some who were more tolerant than others. The old man, he was pretty sure his name was Dale, had managed to find an unopened toothbrush in his RV and had told Luke he could keep it, offering the boy something of a smile. 

But now he was well and truly out of things to do. He stood from his place on the log with a small sigh and wandered idly around the camp. Apart from the jobs some people were completing there was nothing going on of any interest. He thought that he could go out and see if he could catch a few more squirrels but it would be getting dark soon and his dad had taken the crossbow. The good crossbow anyway, Luke had a smaller one of his own but it wasn’t as powerful and couldn’t shoot over very long distances. 

As he wandered to the edge of the camp there was a voice from behind him.   
“Whatcha doing?” Luke turned and saw the voice belonged to Carl who had evidently seen him crossing the camp and decided to follow. Luke shrugged his shoulders.   
“Bored,” Carl nodded at him.   
“Me too. Mom was making me and Sophia do math. It’s so boring,” Luke suppressed a laugh at the thought of still caring about things like math when the whole world had gone to shit. He just shrugged again and continued to walk in the direction of the tree line. 

He reached the first tree and pulled himself up onto one of the lower hanging branches. Carl had continued to follow the older boy and now stood looking up at the tree in concentration. Although the branch wasn’t too high up, Luke was about 3 inches taller than Carl and the younger boy struggled a little to reach. Luke watched for a few seconds before scooting over and reaching a hand down. Carl accepted it and allowed Luke to help pull him up onto the branch. The younger boy let out a laugh when he was finally sat there and Luke looked at him in confusion.   
“What? You never climbed a tree before?” He asked. The question was somewhat sarcastic as Luke found it difficult to believe that someone wouldn’t have climbed a tree but Carl shook his head as he continued to look around in glee. “Really?”   
“Yeah, never,” 

Luke thought for a moment.   
“Come on then,” he said, standing up onto the branch and pulling himself across onto the next one. It was only a little higher than the first and as Luke glanced back it brought a small smile to his face to see the joy that lit up Carl’s. The younger boy followed him as they climbed. The whole tree didn’t go up very high and they mostly just climbed backwards and forwards across the lower branches. 

Luke laughed when Carl jumped across from a higher branch and landed on the lower one and Carl stood to cheer him on when Luke climbed into a higher part of the tree. The two boys continued to mess around in the tree, laughing and chatting as they did so. It was without a doubt the most fun that Luke had had since the dead started walking and he wouldn’t have been surprised if it was the same for Carl. 

“Carl!” A voice shrieked out from the camp. The voice, belonging to Lori, echoed across the camp and Carl stopped at the sound “Carl you get down from there right now!” Lori was rushing over to them as fast as she could without actually running.   
“I’m alright mom I’m just climbing,” Carl said as she got closer.   
“Get down! Are you crazy?” As she reached the bottom of the tree she peered up and saw Luke still stood on one of the higher branches, although even this one was barely 7 feet off the ground. “Are you trying to get my son killed?” She yelled. She was almost hysterical in the way she was shouting.   
“No. We was playin’. It ain’t even high,” he said and, as if to emphasise his point, he jumped from the branch to the ground. “Might get a bump but ain’t gonna die,” he said to her. The woman just shook her head.  
“C’mon Carl. You’re not playing anymore,” the younger boy huffed as he climbed down from the tree and he threw a somewhat apologetic look to Luke. 

Luke just shook his own head and glared at the woman.   
“Fuckin’ crazy lady. The whole damn world has gone to shit and yer worried about a few scraped knees,” he scoffed at her and began walking away “y’all need to fix yer damn priorities,”   
__ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ 

Trekking through the woods in the pitch black darkness wasn’t the situation that any of the small group had hoped to find themselves in. Not a single part of their day had gone to plan and on top of everything that had happened, including the close call at the old people’s home, Daryl now had to go back and explain to his son that they hadn’t been able to find Merle anyway. Not all of him at least. And that was almost the worst part. The knowledge that his brother could very well still be out there somewhere, bleeding and in pain, all because he couldn’t have faith that Daryl would come back for him. 

The first scream that had echoed out had seemed distant and Daryl almost hadn’t registered it at first. Then there was another, this time accompanied by the sound of a gunshot, and the group barely glanced at each other for a second before they set off sprinting towards the camp. 

Daryl’s heartbeat was hammering in his ears as his feet carried him at speed towards the camp, only a half step behind Rick. An image of Luke covered in blood and being ripped apart flashed through his mind but he forced it down as far as it would go. His shotgun was up and at the ready as they ran through into the clearing. 

A shot rang out as Rick fired at a walker straight in front of him and Daryl took one out that was approaching on his left. There was shooting, shouting and screaming echoing around the open space and Daryl fought as though he were on autopilot. Another walker stepped out of some shrubs as Daryl ran passed and he cracked the butt of his shotgun against its skull as he went by. 

Above the chaos and hysteria that suffocated the area, Shane’s loud booming voice could be heard as he guided a small group to safety. Daryl fired two more shots and carried on in the direction of Shane’s voice. They ran and as Daryl got closer he began searching desperately among the crowd of people for Luke. Panic started to swell in his stomach when he couldn’t see a sign of his boy with Shane and the others.   
“Luke!” He cried out, slowing his pace and taking out a walker that approached him.   
“Dad move!” His son’s voice broke out through the chaos and Daryl didn’t even have time to blink before there was a rush of air next to his head followed by a sickening crunch. He whipped around and saw Luke stood over the lifeless body of a walker, a small axe sticking out of its head. 

The shots around them had started dying out as Daryl rushed to his son, pulling him close.   
“Are you ok? Are you hurt?” He asked, fear laced into his voice as he checked over his son.   
“I’m ok dad,” he replied, wrapping his arms around Daryl “I’m fine dad I promise,”   
__ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ 

With the breaking of daylight across the camp had come the realisation that they now faced a whole new set of problems. 

They had lost people for a start, and a whole lot of them too. They also had to face the fact that their camp wasn’t safe anymore. They couldn’t stay here any longer and as soon as their people had been buried they would have to move on. Which in itself led to another problem. Jim had been bitten and, despite Daryl’s insistence that they should just end it then and there, Rick suggested that they head to the CDC in the hopes that it might know something about a cure. Shane had suggested something about Fort Benning and there had been a small argument but by that stage Daryl had stopped listening. 

It was midday by the time the group parted ways with Morales and his family, who had decided to head elsewhere in search of family, and set off for the CDC. Daryl drove the black jeep with Merle’s motorbike on the back and Luke riding shotgun. He was thankful that the boy hadn’t questioned more than what Daryl had briefly told him about the situation with Merle just yet. He was tired, having not slept at all after everything last night, and it was a conversation he would rather have with a full belly and at least a few hours of sleep in his system. 

He didn’t know what the future was going to hold. Maybe there would be nothing at the CDC. Maybe there would be nothing anywhere. But he did know that as long as he had his boy, he would continue to take whatever the world threw his way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I rewrote this chapter so many times and I’m still not 100% happy with how it turned out but it should hopefully provide enough context now for the story to start moving forward properly. 
> 
> Let me know what you thought! Kudos and comments are greatly appreciated and inspire me to write more XD 
> 
> ~Mitch xoxo


	3. The Centre for Disease Control

He wasn’t sure exactly how long they had been on the road for but by the time the huge structure of the CDC came into view, night time was beginning to creep in. Even at the back of the convoy, in the open top Jeep, the rancid smell of death and decay hit them before they had even pulled to a stop. It was almost suffocating in the way that it filled the area and the group didn’t need to go very far to see the cause. 

Between them and the huge building of the CDC was a minefield of bodies. They were in varying states of decay, some being barely more than bone, and the whole area was swarmed by thousands of flies as they fed on the rotting flesh. 

Daryl turned to Luke as he killed the engine and handed him his smaller crossbow.   
“Keep this loaded an’ aimed at all times, keep right next to me and stay quiet,” He said as he picked up his own crossbow. After receiving a confirmation nod from Luke, the pair stepped out of the car and walked forward to join the rest of the group. 

The group made their way quickly toward the building, weapons loaded and ready. They drew closer to the building, some of the group coughing and gagging as the smell grew worse, and eventually they came to a stop at the shutters. Rick and Shane tried to pry them open but they didn’t budge. 

The doubt that had been steadily growing in Daryl since they pulled up and saw all the bodies peaked. There was no signs of life here, and it looked as though it had been this way for a while.   
“Rick, there’s no one here,” Shane whispered “this place is gone,” Rick shook his head.   
“No. There’s gotta be. There has to be more,” he was looking all around and prying at the shutters again. The two men continued their whispered argument as Daryl noticed the whimpering that was increasing in volume with each passing second. 

“Walker!” Luke called out, still keeping his voice at a whisper. The walker had come out from behind one of the low walls and was no more than 15 feet from the group. The crossbow in Luke’s hands fired and the arrow shot through the air, lodging itself in the walkers skull. What had previously been a whimpering soon became a full blown cry at the sight of the walking corpse and Daryl turned his attention to the source of the sound. The small blonde girl with the group was nearly screaming in hysteria.   
“Hey! Put a sock in it!” Daryl growled out. The girls mother, a short grey haired lady Daryl knew to be called Carol, turned to him.   
“Leave her alone,” she hissed “she’s scared,”   
“Well shut her up or I will!” Daryl responded. Lori stepped next to the other woman and started arguing with Daryl in a hushed whisper. 

The sudden shout drew all of their attentions back to Rick and Shane.   
“You’re killing us! You’re killing us!” Rick was screaming up at one of the security cameras as Shane tried to pull him away.   
“Rick there’s no one here! We have to go!”   
“You have to let us in! You’re killing us!” All of the shouting and commotion made the young girls crying worse and now a distant growling could be heard.   
“Rick we gotta fuckin’ go! This place is a damn graveyard!” Daryl yelled as he grabbed the man by the shoulder. 

A piercing white light broke through the fading daylight and there was a set of metallic clunks as the shutters peeled open. The group paused for a few seconds before springing into action.   
“Go!” Daryl yelled as a group of walkers started in their direction not too far away. He pulled Luke in front of him, a hand on his shoulder, as the group sprinted through the opening. There was another metallic clang as they closed again behind them and the whole group stood, panting and sweating in a dimly lit room. 

“Anyone infected?” A voice rang out. The dark made it difficult to see but as their eyes adjusted they saw the man stood on the balcony.   
__ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ 

The man on the balcony had introduced himself as Edwin Jenner. And he was the only person left. Of all of the people that had been working here, he was the only one that remained and Daryl couldn’t help the way it set a seed of doubt in his stomach. Surely if there was anything of any value here, he wouldn’t be the only one left. Surely it would be better protected. 

Still, along with the rest of the group, he was relieved to have a place to rest his head, even if they only stayed temporarily, and everyone was willing to submit to the blood test that Jenner demanded in return for his hospitality. The man showed them through the building, to the places where they could sleep, a communal room with board games and books and even working showers that produced hot water. From there the group had been in paradise. 

Daryl sent Luke off to shower first as he set up their beds in a small room he had picked for them at the end of the corridor. There had been little argument from the boy as he set off to scrub away the thick layers of grime that no amount of cold lake water could have ever rid them of. Daryl took a moment to look around the room. It wasn’t a bedroom, none of the accessible ones were, but there was a sofa and he had found a fold out mattress in the wardrobe. It was comfortable, certainly more comfortable than any place they had stayed since this whole thing had started, and Daryl was glad that there would be something of a good nights sleep to be had. But he also knew one very important thing. If something seems to good to be true then it probably is. And he wasn’t going to get his or Luke’s hopes up about this place until they saw more of what was really going on here. 

__ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ 

Jenner had provided them with a dinner that consisted of more food than any of them had seen in one place for weeks. He had also been kind enough to allow the group access to the various beverages that were in the supplies of both the alcoholic and the non alcoholic variety, and it was fair to say that the group indulged just a little. 

The atmosphere in the room was light and bubbly as the conversation flowed just as quickly as the booze did. It had been a hell of a long time since Daryl had drunk alcohol in any great quantity and after only his second glass of whiskey, he could feel the familiar buzz of the drink in his system. Luke was sat opposite the table from Daryl, next to Carl, and they chatted away animatedly about something or other that Daryl hadn’t been able to keep up with. The group continued to joke and laugh and for the first time since he had joined them, Daryl didn’t feel like a complete outsider. He was included in the conversations and his son was being treated the same as Carl and Sophia and he had to admit that it felt good.

Dale had stood at one point and addressed Lori.   
“You know, in Italy, children enjoy a little wine with dinner,” he said with a laugh, pointing the bottle of red wine in Carl’s direction. Lori laughed too but shook her head a little. Carol also had a similar reaction with Sophia but Daryl just shrugged when the same look was extended to him. There was a small cheer and Dale poured some of the wine into Luke’s glass.   
“C’mon Lori what’s it gonna hurt?” Rick said, chuckling, and then Lori too conceded.   
“There you are lads,” Dale said as he poured some into Carl’s as well. Both boys tried some of the drink, Carl’s being a sip while Luke’s was something of a gulp and more laughter echoed across the table when they both shook their heads and pushed the cups away.   
“Eww, that’s nasty,” Carl said and Luke nodded in agreement.   
“Best stick to soda there boys,” Shane spoke from the other side of the table.   
Daryl laughed again and turned to Glenn   
“Not you Glenn,” he laughed out.   
“What?” The Asian man said with a smile.   
“Keep drinkin’ lil man. I wanna see how red your face can get,”   
__ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __

By the time Daryl had decided to call it a night he was more than a little tipsy. He wouldn’t say that he was particularly drunk but he acknowledged the way he swayed a little on his feet and his head span slightly. When he and Luke arrived back at the room he went about setting the boy up on the mattress.

He threw a blanket over the boy once he had settled and leant down, kissing his son gently on the forehead.   
“Love ya,” he said.   
“Love ya too dad,” Luke replied. Daryl stood again and chewed his lower lip for a moment.   
“Best try and get some sleep,” he told Luke before walking over to the door “I’m gonna take a piss,” he muttered, more to himself than Luke as the boy was already well on his way to being passed out from exhaustion. 

The alcohol still running through his veins made the walk to the toilet block a little wobbly but he eventually made it and took care of his business. He washed his hands and walked out of the door, getting barely a few steps before colliding with something.   
“Fuck, shit, ‘m sorry,” he said, looking up from the ground and seeing the something he had collided with was Carol. She held her hand across her chest as the initial fright washed over her. “‘M sorry,” he said again.  
“It’s ok, I’m alright,” she said politely with a smile. 

She moved to walk past him and Daryl held his hand out, touching gently against her arm.   
“Hey I - uh- I just wanted to apologise. For earlier. For yellin’ at yer girl,” he said. It was the first time he had spoken properly with the woman in the entire time they had been at the camp together. Usually her and her daughter were shadowed by the overbearing asshole that Daryl had assumed was her husband. He hadn’t known much about the family and they kept to themselves mostly back at the quarry but he could tell that both women had feared the man. And he wasn’t blind either, he had seen more than a few bruises on her skin, and the way she danced around like she was afraid of her own shadow reminded him of his own mother. He had been quietly glad when the man’s body was identified among those that had been killed in the attack.

“It’s ok. You were trying to keep us safe. I get it,” she said. Though the smile had faded from her face somewhat Daryl couldn’t help but notice the stark blue of her eyes. Maybe it was the alcohol that was making him more sensitive to it but he was also sure that she smelled faintly of mango.   
“Yeah. Me yellin’ at her pro’lly didn’t help with her bein’ scared though. I done pro’lly made it worse. Jus’ thought you could tell ‘er that I ain’t meant nothin’ by it,” he said. Carol looked up into his eyes and although he hadn’t added it, she knew the real meaning of his sentence was that he didn’t want Sophia to be scared of him. Carol nodded at Daryl and gave him a small smile.   
“I will do,” she then moved again to walk past him. “Goodnight Daryl,” he stood looking at the spot where she had been for a few seconds.   
“G’night,”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And there we have our first proper Carol and Daryl interaction of the story! 
> 
> I love hearing feedback on these stories so feel free to let me know what you thought. 
> 
> Thanks for reading!   
> ~Mitch xoxo


	4. Moving on

Tremors similar to an earthquake wracked the RV as the enormous building of the CDC erupted into flames behind them. Carol clutched at Sophia, her body sprawled over the young girls as she attempted to protect her from the blast. Carol had expected the noise that the building made as it combusted, but what she hadn’t been prepared for was the heat. Even from this distance away the whole group felt the waves of prickling heat against their skin as it filled the air around them. The tremors lasted for maybe ten or fifteen seconds but as she lay there on the floor of the RV, her daughter in her arms, it felt like forever. 

Everyone had waited a moment longer after the sound had died down before getting back to their feet. Carol’s heart continued to race in her chest as she and Sophia took their seat in the vehicle. That had been an extremely close call. Too close. The voice of Dr Jenner flitted back through her mind. “No pain. An end to sorrow... grief,”. Jacqui had made that choice to stay, to not have to face the cruel world they lived in anymore, and maybe Andrea would have to if it hadn’t been for Dale. Carol’s instinct as the group fought to escape had been that she wanted to survive, she wanted her daughter to survive. The young girl didn’t deserve to die in that way. These thoughts had been stuck in her mind as she had pulled that grenade out of her bag. They had been in her mind as she had sprinted towards the vehicles, Sophia’s hand clutched in her own. They had been in her mind as the explosion tore through the air around them. But now as they sat in the deathly silence that overtook them, as she considered what had just happened, she began to wonder if it had been the right decision. Did she want Sophia to live like this? Fighting? Scared? No, it had been the right choice. She couldn’t have just given up, not when they had been through so much already. 

Carol was ripped from her thoughts by the sudden and harsh sound of a horn from behind them.   
“Come on! Let’s get the hell outta here! That blast is gonna draw walkers from a hundred miles!” The deep southern voice of Daryl Dixon pulled everyone out of their haze and into action. He was right they wouldn’t have long before this place would be overrun with the dead after a noise that loud. The engines of the vehicles roared to life and the group set off.   
— — — — — — — — — — — — — — 

They had driven without stopping for a while. Carol couldn’t have been sure exactly how long but Sophia and Carl had fallen asleep beside her at some point around the 30 minute mark and were still asleep now. Nobody spoke as they drove, not even over the radios, and the tense silence left little more for Carol to think about than their experiences the last few days. One image that occupied the forefront of her mind had been after the attack at the camp. Everything had happened so quickly after the walkers had invaded that she had barely had time to consider the fact that her husband of many years was now dead. Not only dead but put down by Carol herself. But now she did have time to consider it, she realised that the thought was a complicated one. 

When they had married all those years ago, Carol had loved Ed immensely. Maybe it wasn’t really love even then, more of an infatuation, but how was she to know any different? She was 17 and he was 24. He had a car, he was popular, he was a traditional “bad boy”. And above all he appeared to love her back, buying her nice things and taking her places. He would tell her that they would be together forever and that she was his now. At the time those words had seemed like a love song. Now as she looked back she realised that they were really a prison sentence.

Those pleasant feelings of love and affection that she had towards him at the start had been absent for many years. Since the very day of their wedding Carol had begun to realise that Ed really had been telling the truth when he told her that she belonged to him now and he intended to prove it. From that day her life stopped being her own. She wasn’t free anymore. Ed would stop her from doing anything that he thought might bring her joy, or friendship, or the opportunity to meet other men. He wouldn’t allow her to go to work, less she tell someone what was going on at home. She wasn’t allowed to visit her family and she could only talk with them on the phone when he was around. She was expected to stay in their house, all day, every day and attend to Ed’s each and every desire. She would cook and clean and offer her body to him whenever he wanted it and if she disobeyed him there would be a punishment. This wasn’t physical abuse to start with. At the beginning he would take away one of the few luxuries she did have like books or soap. He would destroy them in front of her and then make her clean up the mess afterwards. It wasn’t until after the birth of Sophia that the abuse became physical. 

He used to apologise. He would tell her he was sorry and that he was only doing it because he loved her and wanted her to be the perfect wife. And that was almost the worst part. Carol would accept and believe these apologies, blaming herself for the punishment she had received, and even apologise in return for making him punish her in the first place. Eventually the apologies stopped too and assaulting Carol became more of a sport for Ed. He revelled in the fact that she lived in constant fear of him and would often pretend he was going to hit her, only to laugh when she flinched away. It was around this time that Carol had realised that he had never loved her to begin with but it was too late. She couldn’t escape him now, she had no friends, no family, and now she had a young daughter to worry about too. 

So when she had brought that axe swinging down through the air, lodging it in his skull over and over again, it felt like she was finally freeing herself from the chains she had been living in. Each blow was another link shattering and another freedom in her life coming back. Any guilt or trepidation she had been feeling had been swept away by a feeling of relief that after all these years, she was finally free. 

So it was complicated for Carol. He had been the father of her child and a man she had once loved. But she didn’t love him now, she knew that, and she certainly didn’t miss him. She and Sophia would be safe now. They would be free.   
__ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ 

Eventually the group pulled over in a small neighbourhood. There were only a few houses and the location was quite out of the way and so the decision was made that they would stop here to decide what their next move was going to be. Daryl nudged Luke awake and the two of them climbed out of the car to join the others in the small gathering. The conversation that followed wasn’t a particularly long one and within a few minutes it was decided that their next move would be Fort Benning, as Shane had suggested in the first place. Daryl had no complaints about the idea, and he certainly didn’t have a better idea of his own, and so he merely nodded his head in agreement when it came his turn to offer an opinion.   
“So it’s settled then. We’ll set off for Fort Benning first thing in the morning. Everyone try and get some rest tonight, we’ve got a long journey ahead of us,” Rick spoke to the group. Everyone nodded and began to head their separate ways.   
“I’ll walk the perimeter a ways, put up some ropes. Maybe see if I can’t catch us somethin’ to eat,” Daryl added. 

It was a few hours later when Daryl and Luke returned together to the house they had chosen to stay in for the night, each holding a large rabbit and a squirrel also slung over Daryl’s shoulder. Most of the group were currently inside the house or taking watch, only Carol and Sophia still being out front. Carol was stood beside a fire, readying pots and pans to begin cooking dinner on and Sophia sat on a small log beside her, fiddling with a flower. Daryl and Luke wandered over with their catches. Carol looked up at them as they approached and offered them both a small smile.  
“Sorry,” Daryl started as he and Luke took up their own seats on the logs. “It ain’t much. Barely any thin’ around here,” he muttered, glancing up at Carol with an apologetic look.   
“That’s okay, it’s better than nothing. And it’s definitely better than the plain old beans we would have been having otherwise,” she said, a smile tugging at the corner of her lips. Daryl half returned the smile before pulling a knife out of his pocket and setting about skinning their catches. Luke did the same beside him and the four of them fell into a comfortable silence for a few minutes. 

Sophia glanced over at Luke beside her at one point with a look akin to curiosity on her features. Luke glanced up at her and realised that she was watching him skin the rabbit. He stopped what he was doing and offered the half skinned animal and knife in the girls direction.   
“Wanna try?” He offered. Sophia looked slightly disgusted at first before the curiosity obviously won over. She looked at Carol with a questioning look and she just shrugged at her with a small smile. Sophia took the rabbit and knife into her hands as Luke moved over to show her what she needed to do.   
“So you need ta pull this bit right here real tight, it’s a bit slimy so get a good grip,” Sophia followed the instruction, grimacing slightly at the feel of the rabbit, but continuing to listen. “Yeh jus’ like that. Then put the knife jus’ under the skin and push against it. It’s easier if you move the knife backwards and forwards to,” Sophia let out a triumphant sound as the knife began to move. Luke gave her a smile as he continued to guide her. At this point Daryl, who had been watching his son teach the young girl, glanced up at Carol to find that she was also looking at him. She blushed slightly at having been caught staring but still offered Daryl a smile before they both looked away again. 

It occurred to Carol in that moment that she hadn’t realised how similar Luke looked to his father. They both had piercing blue eyes and scruffy brown hair, although Luke’s was a shade or two lighter than Daryl’s. They both had thick southern accents too and above all she could see how close they were. The bond between them was evident even as they just sat there side by side and it was a bond she so wished her daughter could have had with her father. She shook her head a little to clear that thought from her mind. 

“How long have you been hunting for Daryl?” She asked the man.   
“Since I was young,” he responded. “8 maybe. It’s somethin’ ya pick up on real quick when it’s the only way yer gonna eat,” Carol nodded in response and from there a steady conversation flowed between the four of them. Carol’s heart bloomed when she saw Sophia talking so animatedly to Luke. She wasn’t sure she had even seen the girl look this relaxed and happy. For the first time since this whole thing had started, Carol felt relaxed. It was strange because everything was so uncertain but with her daughters smiling face in front of her and the lack of the looming shadow her husband had been casting over her, she felt a sense of happiness. 

The group rejoined them at the announcement that dinner was ready. Glenn and T-Dog were the first over and both men thanked Carol for the meal.   
“Don’t thank me, I just cooked it. Daryl and Luke did all the hard work,” she said, offering them both a smile as she did. Glenn and T-Dog extended their thanks to Daryl and Luke too.  
“Ain’t nothin’” Daryl murmured, a hint of embarrassment covering his features at the attention. 

Before long the exhaustion from the CDC this morning and the journey began to take its toll and, with relatively full bellies, people began to feel the pull of sleep. Everyone began heading into the small house with Daryl offering to take the first watch. The house they had picked had a small porch upstairs that gave a solid view out into the street and so it was picked as the location to take watch. Daryl set Luke’s sleeping bag up in the room through which you had to pass to reach the porch so he could keep an eye on him as well. He was joined in their by Carol and Sophia who were offered the double bed, as well as Andrea. Rick, Lori and Carl took the other bedroom leaving Dale, T-Dog, Glenn and Shane to find a spot in the living room downstairs. 

Daryl settled down into his chair on the porch, crossbow at the ready beside him, and rubbed at the aching muscles on his shoulders. Their fight to escape at the CDC hadn’t been easy and his body was really beginning to feel the toll of fighting for their lives everyday, whether it was out hunting for food, fighting walkers, fixing vehicles or anything else they had to do. Daryl was exhausted. But he knew if this group and his boy had any chance of surviving then they had to keep on fighting. He let out a small sigh as he pulled out a cigarette and settled in for his shift. 

Glenn came up a few hours later to take over and allow Daryl to attempt some sleep. He settled down beside his son and allowed the steady breathing of the boy beside him to lull him into a loose sleep. A sleep which he was surprised to realise when he woke was filled with deep blue eyes and a sweet, warming smile.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I updated this????? 
> 
> I know it’s crazy and it’s been a while. I can’t promise this will be a regular thing but I hope you all enjoy it nonetheless. 
> 
> Let me now what you thought! 
> 
> ~Mitch xoxo


	5. What Lies Ahead

Everyone awoke the following morning at the crack of dawn with the knowledge that they would have a long day ahead of them. So after a very quick breakfast and one final search of the house for any useful gear or food, the group loaded up the cars and set out on the road. 

After agreeing that Luke could ride in the RV with Sophia and Carl, Daryl led the group on Merle’s motorcycle. It sent a twang of guilt through him to be riding it now that Merle wasn’t there. It made him feel like he was leaving his big brother behind, but he wasn’t. Merle was the one that left him behind. If Merle would have just had faith that Daryl was going to come back for him they would all be together right now. Instead Daryl was now making a 125 mile journey to find refuge at Fort Benning and it was unlikely he would ever see his brother again, if he was even still alive.

Daryl shook his head a little to clear his thoughts and concentrate on the road. The first few miles were relatively easy to navigate as the old backroads were not too congested with abandoned vehicles. It was likely that those who had lived in the small village before had fled right at the start in the hopes of finding somewhere a little more secure. They hadn’t encountered too many walkers either, only having to swerve them here and there, but Daryl wasn’t naive to think the ease was going to last. And he was right. 

After driving for around ten miles the group reached the highway. The roads were littered with cars and trucks for as far as the eye could see and Daryl had to slow his speed almost to a crawl in order to find a route through the carnage that all of their vehicles could take. He would have to speed ahead at points to search for the best route and return to help the group move vehicles out of the way when some of the spots became too tight. 

It was a long and repetitive process and after being on the highway for an hour they had barely managed to go a mile. To make matters all the worse, Dale had said the radiator in the RV was struggling and all of the cars were beginning to run low on fuel. They managed to go for perhaps another 20 minutes when the RV finally gave out.

“It’s dead,” Dale spoke over the radio. Daryl pulled over to see the steam hissing from the RV as everyone else pulled over and gathered around. “I said it. Didn’t I say it?” Dale said to no one in particular. He had been saying for a few hours that the RV wasn’t gonna make the trip but they had pushed on anyway.  
“Problem Dale?” Shane asked.   
“Well just the small matter of being stuck in the middle of nowhere with no hope of-“ Dale cut himself off mid-sentence as Daryl began rummaging through the back of one of the nearby cars. “Okay that was dumb,” Dale conceded as he realised why Shane and Daryl appeared not to be as worked up as he was.   
“If you can’t find a radiator hose here,” Shane muttered.   
“There’s a whole bunch ‘a stuff you can find,” Daryl added. 

“Siphon more fuel from these cars for a start,” T-Dog had said as he stepped forward. There was more talk among the group of finding more water and food as well. Daryl turned to look as Lori began speaking.   
“This place is a graveyard,” she said to the group. It was true. They were surrounded by abandoned cars, some with dead bodies still in them, and the possessions of people that were likely long gone by now. Everyone had a slight look of guilt on their features as she had said it but deep down they all knew the bitter truth. In this new world they lived in they were going to have to do things to survive that they didn’t like. After a few seconds of silent contemplation Shane’s voice broke through.   
“Come on y’all, let’s look around, see what you can find,” 

The group set about with their various tasks, T-Dog heading off to siphon some gas, Glenn and Dale working on the radiator hose and everyone else rummaging through the cars to see if they could find anything useful. Carl and Sophia followed after Carol and Lori and Luke wandered over to his dad, looking unsure of what to do with himself.   
“Hey dad. Ya need any help?” He asked, fiddling with the hem of his dirty t shirt. Daryl stood from the trunk of the car he was leaning into and glanced at his boy. He pulled one of the knives off of his waistband and handed it to Luke, who took it and placed it on his own.   
“Start lookin’ through some o’ those cars,” he said gesturing to the cars in front of him. “Keep that with ya, and yer crossbow too,” Luke nodded his understanding.   
“‘kay,” he replied and began to head over to the closest car.   
“Luke!” Daryl called again from behind. The boy turned back around. “Stick close,”   
“I got it dad,” 

Luke padded over to the car, his crossbow slung over his shoulder, and pulled the trunk open. It was relatively empty aside from a few empty cans and some old magazines. He made his way around to the front end of the car and began searching through the glovebox and the centre console. One thing his uncle Merle had taught him in his life is if you’re trying to find something of value, it wasn’t gonna be in plain sight. The young boy was just about to give up with this car when he noticed a small box sticking out from under the passenger side chair. He reached under, pulling it out and flipping the lid open. Inside the small box was a selection of bullets and one singular cigarette. Luke smiled in victory as he put the box in a small bag he had found on the floor. 

He moved along to another car. This one was bigger than the other one. He could see Carl and Sophia from here and he returned their wave when they saw him. Once again he pulled open the trunk and this time he had better luck. There was a number of bags in the trunk and he began to excitedly pull them open. The first had a number of unopened water bottles which he dropped into his bag as well as a few chocolate bars. Then there was a suitcase which revealed some more bottles including orange squash and a pile of canned food. There were beans, sweet corn, veggies, tuna and even some spaghetti hoops. He stuffed as many as he could fit into his bag and put the last two cans of tuna into his pockets. His triumphant smile had grown even bigger with this find and he turned over to Sophia and Carl.   
“Guys look what I fou-“ before he could finish his sentence, a voice stricken with panic broke through the air. 

“Lori! Under the cars now!” It was Rick from a few rows of cars back. “Carl, Sophia, Luke! Get down,” he said. He spoke in a quiet voice but his urgency conveyed his message quite clearly. Luke grabbed the bag of stuff and dropped to the floor, crawling underneath the vehicle and dragging the bag with him. He could see in front of him as Sophia crawled under the car directly in front of his and Carl did the same under the one next to hers. His heart pounded in his chest as he checked that his whole body was tucked under the car and out of sight.

The sound of his own heartbeat was almost deafening in the eerie silence that had fallen across the group. It was only when he strained to listen hard enough that he began to hear the faint sound of shuffling and the telltale moaning of the dead as they approached. After a few seconds that felt like an eternity the first set of feet came into Luke’s sight. He took in a deep breath as a wave of panic washed over him. As he glanced in front of him he saw Sophia looking back at him, the fear even more evident on her features than it was on his own. He put a hand up to his mouth in a “shhh” motion and gave what he hoped was a reassuring look. 

The dead shuffling past seemed to go on forever. Luke did his best to stay absolutely quiet as the walkers went by. Eventually the growls died down and the pounding of Luke’s heart began to slow. He moved to shuffle his way out from under the car as Sophia and Carl were doing. At the sudden appearance of another pair of feet Luke froze. The feet moved forward and towards Sophia who’s head had just started poking out from under the car. 

The walker snarled and the sound of Sophia’s scream pierced through the quiet.   
“No,” Luke whispered as Sophia continued to scream. She crawled her way out from under the car as the geek bent down and began to reach for her. Luke looked around frantically and saw that everyone else was too far away to help the girl. “Shit,” he whispered. A second walker appeared as Sophia slid under the railing and down into the ditch, the walkers stumbling over the railing close behind her. 

An instinct overtook Luke and before he could even consider it he had crawled out from under the car and over the railing too. He could hear the shouts of the group behind him as he chased after the young girl. The area beyond the small ditch was heavily wooded and already it was hard to see where they had got to. He could still hear her screams and the growls of the walkers as he ran. He saw a flash of blonde hair and her dark blue T-shirt through the trees as she began running to her left. Luke veered off to his left too and he finally managed to catch up with her as she tripped over the root of a tree. 

The snarling walkers were still close behind so Luke reached down to pull her to her feet quickly and the pair set off running again.   
“This way!” Luke shouted as he ran, her hand clutched into his tightly. He made his way towards a stream and they crossed over it, climbing the small bank on the other side. Luke stopped at the top of the small incline and pulled his crossbow from his shoulder. The two walkers had just reached the far edge of the water as he took aim and fired, the bolt lodging in the walkers head. The body dropped lifelessly to the floor. He didn’t have time to reload it again as the second walker continued towards them so he took Sophia’s hand again and led her at a run away from the edge of the water. The bank should hold the geek off for at least a few more seconds and Luke hoped that would be just long enough to get away. 

They zigzagged through the trees and bushes in their attempt to outrun the walker until Luke looked back over his shoulder and could no longer see the corpse chasing after them. They had reached a small clearing and Luke slowed their run to a walk. The pair of them were panting hard and had sweat running down their dirty faces. Luke hunched over with his hands on his knees as he tried to catch his breath. Sophia was still sobbing between her laboured breaths and was looking around constantly as they stood there. 

When Luke’s breathing had returned to something of a normal pace he finally took a good look around. It wasn’t until this moment that the realisation hit Luke that he had absolutely no idea where they were. They had taken a lot of different turns since they left the highway and the thick forest around them made it impossible to see any part of the road. Not to mention that they had been running for a while and he truthfully had no idea how far away from the group they were. 

He looked over at Sophia.   
“Y’okay?” He asked her. She nodded her head at him. She was still breathing heavily but having not located any corpses in their immediate vicinity that were trying to eat them she appeared to have calmed a little.   
“Are you?” She asked back. He returned the nod.   
“Gonna have to try an’ follow our tracks back to the highway,” he said.  
“You-you know how to do that?” She said in a slightly trembling voice. Luke glanced up at her for a second and offered her a small smile.   
“Yeh it shouldn’t be too hard. We got bigger feet than most animals, more defined prints ‘cause of our shoes,” he assured her. She gave him a small nod.   
“C’mon,” he said and he started off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So a slight cliffhanger there but who knows maybe there will even be another update today? 
> 
> I appreciate this post was not as Caryl centric either but there will be more to come. 
> 
> Let me know what you thought of the chapter, comments fuel my inspiration y’all. 
> 
> Hope you enjoyed! 
> 
> ~Mitch xoxo


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